Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 29,950 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,392,000. Walmart comprises approximately 2.3% of Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s Sparky AI shopping assistant reportedly generates 40% higher customer spending among users, while the company is also integrating AI into advertising and exploring technology partnerships with OpenAI and ChatGPT. These efforts could lift conversion, basket sizes and future digital-advertising revenue. Walmart Sparky AI article
• Positive Sentiment: The launch of Scenario, a women’s fashion brand with most products priced below $25, is designed to attract younger, trend-conscious shoppers and strengthen Walmart’s position in apparel. Its value pricing may help the retailer compete more directly with Amazon. Walmart Scenario fashion brand article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus price target of approximately $128 remains well above recent trading levels, suggesting some Wall Street analysts view the selloff as excessive. Walmart also exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations and raised its full-year sales-growth outlook to 4%-5%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out NFC tap-to-pay across U.S. stores and clubs, improving checkout convenience and aligning with broader mobile-wallet adoption. The change may support engagement but is unlikely to materially alter near-term earnings. Walmart NFC rollout article
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales increased only 2.6%, below the 3.8% consensus estimate and representing Walmart’s slowest comparable-sales growth in six years. Higher gasoline prices and broader economic pressure may be making consumers more cautious, despite the earnings beat. Walmart comparable-sales miss article
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s share of U.S. clothing spending doubled to 17% in 2025 from 8.5% in 2019, while Walmart’s share edged lower. The widening gap raises concerns about Walmart’s ability to gain share in an important retail category. Amazon and Walmart clothing-share article
• Negative Sentiment: Commentators argue WMT still trades at a premium valuation—roughly 36 times forward earnings—despite decelerating growth and cautious consumer trends. That leaves less room for disappointment and has amplified the post-earnings decline.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $105.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.93. The company has a market cap of $838.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $95.42 and a one year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.